Wire handled basket



Ap 28, 1953 w. E. HAUCK WIRE HANDLED BASKET Filed Nov. 10, 1951"IIIIIIIIIIIII'II 'IIIIIIIIIII/IIIIIIIIIIA T W Mm m; Mfl

m w YM Patented Apr. 28, 1953 t v QWIRE HANDLEDBAS'KET William E. Hauck,Indianapolis, Ind., assignor to Inland Ind., acorporation Thisinventionrelates to Wire handled baskets, particularly small corrugated boardbaskets used for packing and handling of fruits and vegetables. However,the material of which the basket is formed may be of like character suchas solid board of combined plys, plywood or any other suitable material.x

In this type of basket it is frequently desirable that the basket bepacked with the handle removed since at the time of packing, an attachedhandle extending upwardly from the top of the basket interferes with therapid packing thereof. Furthermore, it is frequently desirable that thehandle be so arranged that it may be conveniently and quickly attachedto the basket without tools, stitching machinesstitches or loss of time,and after attachment will remain locked in place against accidentalremoval. It is further desirable that such handle be arranged so thatits upwardlyextending bail portion may be readily moved to and from aposition lying fiushwith the upper walls of the basket so that thebaskets can be stacked one upon another, either in parallel or incrosswise relation.

It is therefore the object of this invention to Container Cor provide afruit and produce basket of a structure to readily receive an anchor adetachable wire handle and so form the wire handle as to permit it to bereadily attached to the basket without cutting or breaking the'inner orouter side walls thereof-and which will have-all of the advantages abovemore particularly enumerated. I

This is accomplished by forming the anchoring ends of the wire handle ininverted T-shape to form locking prongs, but wherein the locking prongsof the handle are bent and looped to permit ready insertion through asmall perforation in the double wall rail of the basket without slittingor-otherwise deforming either the inner or outer side walls thereof andpermit telescopic movement therein between basket carrying and stackingpositions; and wherein said handle may be removed through the aperturedrail of the basket if desired.

Wherein the usual flat cover board is applied to such a basket, the wirehandle structure provides a lock or grip therefor regardless of itsposition, 1. e., whether it is in lowered basket stacking position or inits raised carrying position. The threading feature of the handle alsopermits its application to the basket after the cover is applied, whichhas definite advantages, including the embracing of the cover andengagement with inter-connecting side notches, which may be providedtherein.

poration, Indianapolis,

Application November 10, 1951, Serial No. 255,831 2 Claims. (01.2299-52) The full nature of the invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a corrugated board fruit and vegetablebasket showing the handle in carrying position in full lines and innesting position in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through one wall of the basket showingthe handle in nestedposition in full lines and in carrying position indotted lines. 1

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the side of the basket with theinner wall removed, illustrating the threading position of the lock lllgprongs of the handle in full lines and their locking and carryingposition in dotted lines.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one of the locking prongs of Fig. 3. Fig.5 is the same as Fig. .3 showing threading of a modified form of thelocking prongs.

Fig. 6 is the same as Fig. 4 showing the said modified form of Fig. 5.

In the drawings there is shown a corrugated board fruit andvegetablebasket Ill having either full or partly double walls including an outerwall portion ii and an inner wall portion 12 which may extend fully orpartially to thebottom of the basket. The wall portions are joined by a.transversely extending portion thereof forming a double wall rail I3.Thus, the inner and outer portions of the wall are slightly spaced apartto receive the lateral locking flaps of the end walls which extend partof the way inwardly and along the side walls, as indicated at I4. Thisleaves a free open space 15 between-the wall portions II and 12extending the full depth of the basket, and into which the lockingprongs of the'wire handle may freely move from handleextended position,shown in full-lines, to its lowered-flush position, shown in dottedlines (Fig.

1). In each of the side wall rails centrally relative to their oppositeends, there is provided a small perforation [6 approximately thediameter of the wire of the handle, through which the locking prongs ofthe handle are to be threaded.

The wire handle includes a bail portion [1 to extend transversely of thebasket and downwardly extending leg portions 18 slidable through theperforations IS. The locking prongs of the handle are formed at thelower end of the leg portions respectively by bending the wire toprovide a U-shaped prong portion l9 bent laterally from each leg portionto extend at right angles thereto and to the bail portion. The prongportion [9 has its reversely bent portion extending into an opposedprong portion 20 curved upward- 1y so that its upper surface lies in aplane with the upper section of the prong portion IE! on the oppositeside of the leg portion I8. However, it is to be noted as shown in Fig.4, that the opposed prong portion 20 is spaced from the portions I8, I9at El in an amount slightly greater than the thickness of the corrugatedboard rail I3.

As shown in Fig. 3, the removable wire handle is readily positioned andlocked in the basket by threading the prong portions 20 downwardlythrough the apertures it, and then swinging the bail from its angularposition shown in full I lines, beyond its upright position, shown indotted lines, as the lower finger of the U-shaped prong position I9 ispressed inwardly and laterally about the stock of the rails i3 whichpasses through the space or gap 2i until the upper section of the prongportion i9 is aligned with the aperture.

The legs having been swung beyond the vertical, permit the upper sectionof the prong portion I9 to slide downwardly through the aperture so thatthe locking prongs are entirely em braced within the space it of thewalls. With the bail portion drawn upwardly to its carrying position,the locking prongs, including the upper section of the portion is andthe portion 29, bear against the under side of the rail I3. The basketis thus suspended .in carrying position with the leg portions confinedand slidable within the apertures. This permits the handle to be loweredto basket nesting position, as shown in dotted lines of Fig. 1, and fulllines of Fig, 2, or be raised to carrying position.

The handle may be removed through the aperture by a reverse operation tothat above described, i. e., swinging the handle to position forwithdrawing first the upper section of the prong portion I9 through theaperture, and then swinging it to the opposite position to slide thelower section thereof and the portion 20 through the aperture.

- In the modified form shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the bail portion of thehandle is indicated at I I! and the legportion at I Hi. The U-shapedprong portion is indicated at I i9, but the opposed prong portioninstead or" being curved upwardly is likewise U -shaped as indicated ati263, with its upper section extending in the plane of the upper sectionof the prong portion H9. The end of the portion I2!) is spaced from theleg and prong portion I I9 to the extent of the space or gap indi catedat I2 I In this form of locking prongs the aperture I3 in the walllrailmust be slightly elongated to the depth of the U-shaped prong portion.120, whereby said U'-shaped prong portion may be threaded through theaperture, as above described with respect to the prong portion 26.Otherwise, the

4 0 threading and interlocking of the modified prong portion follows thesame movement as above described with respect to Fig. 3.

The invention claimed is:

1. The combination with a container having spaced side walls connectedby a rail having a perforation therein; of a handle for said containercomprising a leg formed of a strand of wire of a diameter to be receivedin said perforation, the leg bent outwardly near one end thereoi' atright angles to said leg to provide a prong, then bent downwardly and ina reverse direction in spaced parallelism with said prong to a pointadjacent to said leg, then in an upward direction across the plane ofsaid leg and spaced therefrom, and the free end of said portion bentoutwardly from said leg to provide a second prong in alignment with saidfirst mentioned prong, whereby both of said prong portions may be.inserted through said perforation to lie beneath and parallel with saidrail andto bear equally against said rail on opposite sides of saidopening when said leg is at right angles to said rail.

2. The combination with a container having spaced sides each havingspaced walls connected at their upper ends by a rail having an openingtherein, of a handle comprising a bail having single strand wire legsdepending therefrom in parallelism and spaced apart a distancesubstantially equal to thedistance between said sides and of a diameterto be received in said openings, the lower portions of each of said legsbent outwardly near one end thereof at right angles to its respectiveleg to provide a prong, then bent downwardly and in a reversedirection-in spaced parallelism with said prong to :apoint adjacent toleg, then in an upward direction across the plane of said leg and spacedtherefrom, and the free end or" said portion bent outwardly from saidleg to provide a second prong in alignment with said first mentionedprong, whereby said prongs when inserted through said opening will bedisposed beneath said rail and in parallelism therewith on oppositesides of said opening when said leg is perpendicular to said rail.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES ZF'A'I'EN'ISNumber Name Date 3 2,132,638 Mohler m"- Oct, 11, 193i;v 2,218,366?B01501 Oct. 15, 1940 2,35%,867 Larkin Aug, 1, 1944 2,397,880 Newman Apr.2, 1946" 2,451,337, Morris 15, 1-949:

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 77,860 Switzerland June" 1,1918;

WILLIAM E. HAUCK.

